The Power Farming Euro Tour saw 63 New Zealand farmers, contractors and dealers hit Italy and Germany to see the latest tractor technologies from the SDF Group including production of the series 6, 7 and 9 Deutz Fahr. The Power Farming Euro Tour saw 63 New Zealand farmers, contractors and dealers hit Italy and Germany to see the latest tractor technologies from the SDF Group including production of the series 6, 7 and 9 Deutz Fahr. While the All Blacks were well into planning their end-of-year tour, another group of Kiwis headed to the northern hemisphere in the middle of…

SOUTH Australian contractor Nick Pratt’s new Duncan AS6100 folding tine drill is living up to expectations. Mr Pratt is owner of Emu Ridge Ag Contracting based from Penola, fifty kilometres north of Mount Gambier. He primarily concentrates his business on hay baling and pasture renovation. "“I feel that farmers need to get more out of the land they have got. With beef prices being on a high, it’s a good time for farmers to improve their pastures.”" - Nick Pratt The business purchased the new 6.1m wide AS6100 drill in April. He was previously using a 26-row another brand of…

Pam Tipa writes in Rural News that almost $600 million flowed into the meat industry from outside New Zealand in the last 18 months. Overseas firms looked to secure NZ beef and lamb and strengthen their global agrifood positions, says a new report. Investors chiefly from China and Japan bought in, says the report ‘Investors Guide to the NZ Meat industry 2017’, released in June. It was commissioned by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and prepared by Coriolis. | A RuralNews releas  || August 1,  2017   |||

The head of the national rural health group today made an impassioned plea for the government to consider much-needed rural research. Michelle Thompson, chief executive of the Rural Health Alliance Aotearoa New Zealand (RHAANZ) says there is a strong feeling that rural health outcomes are poorer than urban health outcomes but until they have the hard data they can’t be sure whether there is a difference or understand the scale of the difference. Earlier this year the RHAANZ presented its five most urgent priorities to government, one of which included comprehensive rural health research support. “It’s been such a relief…

Modern, science-based farming is the way to achieve a future for New Zealand where dairy farming has a lower environmental footprint, says DairyNZ’s chief executive, Dr Tim Mackle. His comment follows today’s announcement of the Dairy Action for Climate Change at National Fieldays. The Dairy Action for Climate Change lays down the foundation to reduce greenhouse gasses on dairy farms. The plan is spearheaded by DairyNZ, which represents all dairy farmers in New Zealand, and is in partnership with Fonterra. The plan has the support of the Ministry for the Environment and the Ministry for Primary Industries. Dr Mackle says…

New Zealand’s primary industries need to latch on to technology faster to support the economic growth of its agri sector and become a world leader in a fast growing agritech market, NZTech chief executive Graeme Muller says. NZTech members have joined hundreds of other firms at Fieldays in Hamilton this week as technology becomes increasingly important for the New Zealand agri sector. A growing awareness of the value of technology in agriculture can be seen by the number of farmers looking into technologies such as IoT, drones, sensors and robotics, Muller says. “A report by the IoT Alliance, due for…

The new John Deere 4640 Universal Display raises the bar for performance, uptime and cost of operation as part of the latest John Deere Generation 4 Operating System. For customers, this translates into better data collection, increased application functionality, and greater choice for monitoring and managing many tractor-driven field operations. The new 4640 Universal Display enables customers to use the most common and popular John Deere applications, including AutoTrac™, documentation, and Section Control, in a portable display that has the latest internal components, design and user interface. "The new 4640 Universal Display provides a transportable, easy-to-operate solution for customers with…

The lives of rural New Zealanders are at risk every day because of poor connectivity and inequitable health services, a rural health leader says. Dr Martin London, chair of the Rural Health Alliance of Aotearoa New Zealand (RHAANZ), says government needs to help remove barriers so rural people’s health be considered just as important as those who live in cities. RHAANZ has 47 national member organisations encompassing rural health providers, agribusiness groups, universities, rural community groups and local government. This week it held a series of national rural conferences and meetings in Wellington. Later, London met Health Minister Jonathan Coleman…

Synlait Milk (NZX: SML; ASX: SM1) has welcomed Antony Moess to the Senior Leadership Team as General Manager, Manufacturing. With more than 20 years’ international experience in the dairy industry, Mr Moess has worked in a number of countries including New Zealand, South East Asia and the Middle East. "Antony has held a number of senior roles throughout his career and we are looking look forward to utilising that experience in our Senior Leadership Team," says John Penno, Managing Director and CEO. Most recently Mr Moess was based in Singapore as Fonterra Brand’s General Manager Operations and Supply Chain for…

Māori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell has told Malaysian businesses they can rely on high quality, fresh and safe food and beverage products from Aotearoa New Zealand. Speaking at a business matching event to introduce Malaysian businesses to Māori business leaders Mr Flavell says there is a huge untapped potential to work together in the food and beverage sector. “It’s one we know well, because we have been growing and gathering kai in Aotearoa New Zealand for hundreds of years,” says Mr Flavell. Mr Flavell, who is on his first Māori business and cultural mission to Malaysia this week, says…

DairyNZ is hailing the fact that 97 percent of dairy cattle are now fenced off from waterways, but its latest Water Accord report reveals a significant worsening of reported nutrient leaching in the areas with the biggest new conversions, reports Lynn Grieveson on NewsroomPro DairyNZ described the fencing on waterways as going from Cape Reinga to Bluff 12 times, and Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy had it going to Chicago and back - but they both agreed the 26,197 kilometres of fencing stopping cattle from getting into streams, rivers and lakes was something to celebrate. And while farmers are congratulating…